Flush Out the Tories!

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Against all bans and proscripuuus:

Paper of the Socialist Organiser Alliance No. 115 January 13 1983 (Claimants and strikers 10p) 25p Tebbit plans stage 3 THE Tories could go ahead with stage 3 of their anti-union laws before the General Election.

A Green Paper published this week suggests compulsory postal ballots for union leaders as a measure that could be brought in this year. Also proposed more cautiously are compulsory postal ballots before strike action, and a law to change the unions political levy from 'contracting out' to 'contracting in.

The postal ballots plan is designed to foist leaderships like the Duffy-Boyd-Laird team in the AUEW on every union. It is nothing to do with democracy.

Postal

If postal ballots were suggestea to elect bank or -land Da •1- ~f Eneland governors. company bosses, High Court judges -or Tory Party leaders - then the Tories' enthusiasm would quickly wane. But in the unions they reckon that postal ballots could replace the real though limited say that members have through the branches and committees with the dictatorship of the Tory press.

Machine

Real democracy include a chance to hear the differ ent points of view, take par in discussion, and maintai accountability of representa tives after their election, Th system the Tories favour i one where the Fleet Stree misinformation machin mobilises thousands passive memvers to swamp hana all participatory democracy THIS week Thatcher returns cock-a-hoop from the Falklands, bearing a T-shirt with a tiger motif presented to her by troops "to use when you are fighting Tony Benn."

Feeling • confident after the wearing-down of the NHS dispute, the collapse of the Scottish miners' leaders, and the sell-out of the DHSS jobs fight, the Tories are planning for an election, probably this year, and new anti-union laws.

But their cries of triumph could be shortlived. Plenty of people are not beguiled but disIn the AUEW, the Duffy Boyd team, elected by postal ballot, has systematically suppressed union demo cracy, overriding the right: of district committees, sack ing dissident officials and blandly flouting the unior constitution.

The real purpose of the Tories is vividly shown by the doubts they express or postal strike ballots.

When strike ballots were made law under the 1971 Industrial Relations Act, the one ballot held under that Act gave a resounding victory for strike action by railworkers. In the US, the 163 ballots held under the Taft-Hartley laws show 155 rejections of the employers last offer. As the Financial Timec nut it. "In short thev and out do not deliver the required gusted by the imperialist razzamatazz. And new resistance is brewing on the industrial front.

Arrogantly the Tories told the water workers they could only have a 4% wage rise - though even the employers wanted to offer more! Now the water workers are moving towards strike action, and could link up with gas and power workers also facing the 4% limit.

In the Labour Party the witch-hunt is running into trouble, and Peter Tatchell's by-election campaign in Bermondsey Here, untortunately for the Tories, the dictatorship of the media is too often undermined by mass awareness of the real issues - and mass rallying to the union in protest at external interference.

Thus the Tories are looking for a more subtle scheme to serve the aim of thwarting militant action.

Closed shop

The idea of imposing contracting in' is also presented as a blow for individual rights and democracy. In reality it is another version of the "scab's charter" which Tebbit has already legislated against the ciosed shop.

TIC leaders have protested against Tebbit's plans - could be a major demonstration that there is still a left-wing active and fighting for a Labour government committed to Labour conference policy and accountable to the labour movement.

Yes, we can flush out the Tories!

SEE INSIDE: *Page 2: Water workers challenge cash limits. *Page 2: Fighting Tebbit. *Pages 8-9 and page 15: Bermondsey byelection and Labour witch-hunt. *Page 5: Press Gang on the Falklands. just as they protested agai the first two rounds of Te anti-union law, but with‹ doing anything.

Collaboration

They are hardly likely to lead a serious fight against state interference in the unions when they are still daily collaborating with the government and the state on dozens of committees, councils, and nationalised industry boards.

The fight back will have to start from the rank and file, with demands to break collaboration with the Tories, to reject all state interference, and to install real democracy in the unions - regular election and right of recall of officials through hallots at worknlace meetings.

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Socialist Organiser no.115 1983 Page